UNIT 5: COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY Flashcards
Prototype
Mental image or the best example of a specific concept.
Convergent Thinking “Logic”
Focuses on coming up with the single, well established answer to problem
Divergent Thinking “Imagination”
Exploring many possible solutions (creativity).
PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGIES
Trail and Error
Trying a number of different solutions and ruling out those that do not work
Algorithms
Set of step-by-step procedures that provides the correct answer to a particular problem
Heuristics
Educated guess based of prior experiences (mental shortcuts).
Representative Heuristics
Comparing present situation to most representative mental prototype
Availability Heuristics
Decisions on examples and information that immediately spring to mind
OBSTACLES TO PROBLEM SOLVING
Mental Set
People use solutions that have worked in the past
Functional Fixedness
View problems only in their usual manner
Overconfidence
Tendency to overestimate our own knowledge, skill, or judgement
Hindsight Bias
“I-Knew-It-All-Along” view events as more predictable then they really are
Framing
The acquired response to the formerly neutral stimulus.
INTELLIGENCE
Alfred Binet
French psychologist invented first practical IQ tests
G Factor
(General Intelligence Factor that underlies all intelligent activity) Charles Spearman
How do you calculate IQ?
IQ=mental age/chronological age*100
Fluid Intelligence
Ability to reason think flexibly (diminish with adult aging)
Crystallized Intelligence
Accumulation of knowledge, facts/skills (increase with age).
Howard Gardner
Theory of Multiple Intelligences (8 distinct types)
Visual-spatial, verbal-linguistic, musical-rhythmic, logical-mathematical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic and bodily-kinesthetic.
Wechsler Intelligence
Scales (WAIS)
Intelligence
was made up a number of
different mental abilities
rather than a single
general intelligence factor
Flynn Effect
IQ scores
have been rising
Achievement Tests
Designed to measure
person’s level of
skill/knowledge in a
specific area
Aptitude Tests
Assess what a person is capable
of doing or to predict
Reliability “Consistency”
Tendency of a test to
produce the same scores
again and again each
time it is given to the
same people
Test-Retest Reliability
*Best for Intelligence, administering a test twice
at two different points in
time
Split-Half Reliability
Comparing the results of
one half of a test with the
results from the other half
Validity
The degree in which a test actually measures what it’s
supposed to measure
Content Validity
Test measures all aspects of
what it is designed to
measure
Predictive
Test accurately forecasts performance on a future measure
Normal Distribution
Bell-shaped curve in which
the majority of scores lie near
or around the average score
Recall
Being able to access
the information without
being cued (fill in the blank
test without word bank)
Recognition
Identifying
information after
experiencing it again
(multiple choice test)
Relearning
The process by
which we learn something
for the second time. This
learning process often
occurs faster than the first
time (study for cumulative
final)
Encoding
The process of
putting information into
the memory system
Storage
The creation of a
permanent record of the
encoded information
Retrieval
The calling back
of stored information on
demand when it is needed
Iconic Memory
Visual
Echoic Memory
Auditory
Haptic Memory
Touch
Maintenance Rehearsal
Straight repeating of
information in order to
memorize it
Chunking
Process of taking
individual pieces of
information (chunks) and
grouping them into larger
units
Working Memory
System in your brain that allows
you to temporarily retain
and manipulate the stored
information involved in a
complex process
What did George Miller discover?
Number of items a person
can remember and repeat
back using attention and
short-term memory
(George Miller)
Implicit “Unconscious”
Memory
Information that
you remember
unconsciously and
effortlessly
Procedural Memories
How to perform a specific
task
Explicit “Conscious”
Memory
Information that
you have to consciously
work to remember
Semantic Memory
“Facts”
Memories of facts,
concepts, names, and
other general knowledge
Episodic Memory
“Events”
Long-term
memory that involves the
recollection of specific
events, situations, and
experiences
Prospective Memory
Remembering to
complete a task in the
future
Long-Term Potentiation
(LTP)
Strengthening of a
synaptic connection that
happens when the
synapse of one neuron
repeatedly fires and
excites another neuron
(Kandel & Schwartz)
Forgetting Curve
The exponential loss of
information shortly after
learning it (Hermann
Ebbinghaus)
TYPES OF AMNESIA (FULL OR PARTIAL LOSS OF MEMORY)
Retrograde Amnesia
Cannot remember things
that happened before the
event that caused their
amnesia
Anterograde Amnesia
Condition in which a
person is unable to create
new memories after an
amnesia-inducing event
Serial Position Effect
When we ry to retrieve a
long list of words we
usually recall the last
words (recency effect) and
first words best (primary
effect), forgetting the
words in the middle
Encoding Failure
Occurs
when a memory was
never formed in the first
place (without effort,
many memories never
form)
Proactive (Previous)
interference
Older memories interfere with
the retrieval of newer
memories
Retroactive (Recent)
interference
Newer memories interfere with
the retrieval of older
memories
Flashbulb Memory
Vivid and detailed memories that people create during times
of personal tragedy,
accident, or emotionally
significant world events
Elizabeth Loftus (1944)
Extensive research on
memory construction and
false memories and how
memory is changeable, it is
not always accurate
Misinformation effect
Exposed to misleading
information we tend to
misremember
Method of Loci
Association of words on a list with visualization of places on a
familiar path
Context Dependent
Memory
Easier Recall of
information while in the
same “context” of
environment in which it
was acquired
State Dependent Memory
Memories that are
triggered or enhanced by a
person’s current mood
because of the relationship
to memories formed when
you were in a similar state
